Last week, we proudly announced the finalists in the ages 11-14 category of our 2022 Science Without Borders® Challenge. Today, we are excited to announce the 15-19 year-old finalists of our art contest.
Contest finalists are from China, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The theme, “Ridge to Reef” was portrayed in the students’ artwork through a variety of different actions such as planting corals, cleaning up pollution, preventing overfishing, and planting trees. We were amazed by these students’ creativity, execution of the theme, and artistic abilities.
Without further ado, please meet our 15-19 year old finalists:
"Cutting Our Coral Reefs Free" by Karis Choe, Age 16, California, United States of America
ARTIST’S STATEMENT: Overfishing, affecting over fifty-five percent of the world's coral reefs, allows for the overgrowth of algae. With the depletion of fish, algae growth can't be regulated, killing coral reefs by suffocating and shading them from sunlight. Supplying half of Earth's oxygen, the preservation of coral reefs is extremely important for humanity as a whole. The net holds a surplus of fish as well as a coral reef to represent how overfishing not only impacts fish populations, but also coral reefs. In the fishing industry, the consequences of overfishing are often overlooked due to food supply demands. This is represented by the stark size difference between the boat and net. A hand cuts through the net to free the fish and coral. Representing humanity, the hand highlights the necessity of people to come together to advocate for fishing regulation reform, so that we can ultimately "cut" overfishing out of the picture.
